The British Parliament is deeply concerned about the support that British bank HSBC has given to Chinese legislation on security issues in Hong Kong.
That is stated in a letter to the CEO of HSBC. The letter was written by Member of Parliament Alistair Carmichael, who chairs the parliamentary committee on the former British crown colony.
Top banker Peter Wong, director of HSBC in China, signed a petition on Wednesday expressing that support.
The challenged security law allows China to intervene in Hong Kong, for example, in large-scale protests against Beijing. Hong Kong is an autonomous part of China with its own government and legal system.
“It will not surprise you that this action has caused great concern in the House of Commons,” writes Carmichael, in a letter to HSBC CEO Noel Quinn.
That “a senior executive in your company” takes this position could lead to business instability in Hong Kong, the British MP said.
HSBC, which generates most of the profit in Asia, but is headquartered in London, is not the first company to show support for Beijing.
The British bank Standard Chartered, which does a lot of business in Hong Kong, did the same.